Focus
by PoisonedChuugoku
Summary: Just as he was about to board the Hogwarts Express, eleven year old Harry Potter accidentally bumped into a strange boy with stunning blue eyes and a smile that drew him in. Harry/Multi; Yaoi; Creature!Harry; Submissive!Harry; other species; OCs
1. Prologue

**Author:** PoisonedChuugoku

**Summary:** Just as he was about to board the Hogwarts Express, eleven year old Hary Potter accidently bumped into a strange boy with stunning blue eyes and a smile that drew him in.

**Features:** Harry/Multi, Yaoi, Creature!Harry, Submissive!Harry, other species, OCs

**Rating: **T

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do, however, own any OCs that might appear in this fic.

* * *

When he was a young boy, strange things would happen around him. Changing his teacher's hair blue, his own hair growing back over night after his aunt had cut it all off, small things like that. To his family, they weren't small things.

To his family, they were _freakish_.

He believed that his name had been Freak until the first day he went to primary school. That had been what his relatives had called him up until that point after all.

Little Harry Potter, treated as a slave within his own "home". Little Harry Potter, starved of affection and love. Little Harry Potter, who's history he did not know of aside from his life at the Dursleys'.

Over time, however, Harry became quiet and withdrawn. He never tried to seek attention, he never tried to get into trouble. He listened and hardly spoke.

But he did dream.

Harry dreamed of a large black dog that played with him, a dog he called "Pa'foo". He dreamed of flying broomsticks, smiling faces. However, he also dreamed of screams and green light. It frightened him. It scared him. But he couldn't tell anyone, now could he?

No, he couldn't. Because he was just a freak.

But in his dreams, a woman and a man were always present. They gave him smiles, holding him tightly as they whispered comforting words into his ears. "You aren't a freak," they would say, "You are simply different."

The woman was a beautiful red head with stunning green eyes, much like his own. The man, he noticed, looked almost exactly like him, glasses included. He always had a grin on as he made faces at him. Whenever Harry laughed, the grin seemed to get even wider. Harry never wanted these dreams to end.

Whenever he would wake up, he always felt something wet on his cheeks.

Tears? He was never sure.

But he always felt protected, happy, _accepted _whenever he had those dreams.

Every year on his birthday, Harry would get these dreams. He loved them and cherished them. But the dream on his tenth birthday was different.

In that dream, the man and woman were there. And they simply talked.

They talked about the word the Dursleys had forbade him from saying; magic. They spoke about the flying broomsticks and smiling faces. They spoke about the green light. And just when Harry was more frightened then he had ever been, they smiled and then spoke about _the mark_.

Harry never really acknowledged the mark. He accepted that it was a part of him, just like the lightning scar on his forehead.

The woman told him that the mark was a number (Harry knew that she spoke the truth since she had never lied to him before). The Roman numeral four was something that he knew from simply glancing at the Dursleys' clock on the fireplace mantle. She had then pointed to a similar mark under her own left eye; a crisp number one. She said that the mark couldn't be seen by anyone other than himself.

But that would all change on the night of his fifteenth birthday.

On the day of his eleventh, the woman told him to "take the envelope and hide it under your clothes so no one can see it. Then, once you've read it, run out into the front yard. And continue running. Don't look back". Harry couldn't ask why since the woman then patted him on the head.

The man had then said to him, "Don't stop running until you reach someplace far away. Then, simply call out for Lola. Don't be surprised when she comes to you". He hugged him and then the dream ended.

Harry couldn't remember what it was about when he woke up the next morning. However, several days before his eleventh birthday, everything changed.

* * *

There was the click of the letter-box and flop of letters on the doormat. Harry was at the stove and was just flipping the bacon when Vernon's voice rang out from behind his newspaper.

"Get the post, Dudley."

"Make Harry get it," Harry's cousin immediately replied as he pounded his Smelting's stick on the kitchen floor.

"Get the post, Harry," Vernon said, turning the page of his paper. With a quiet sigh, Harry made sure that the bacon wouldn't burn before turning and making his way to the front door, making sure to dodge Dudley's stick as he passed. Harry wrinkled his nose at the smell in the hall that came from the bathroom upstairs but quickly knelt beside the doormat and picked up the mail.

As he checked to see what was there, his heart stopped upon reaching the largest letter in the lot. No one, in his whole life, had ever written to him. Surely there was some kind of mistake. Yet, it was addressed so plainly and was clear as day.

_Mr H. Potter_

_The Cupboard under the Stairs_

_4 Privet Drive_

_Little Whinging_

_Surrey_

The envelope was thick and heavy as Harry held it. He felt as if it had the entire weight of the world's problems inside it. The address was written in an emerald green ink. There was no stamp. Harry turned the envelope over and saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter "H".

"Hurry up, boy!" Vernon shouted from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" Harry heard him quietly laugh at his own joke.

He felt a strange compulsion come over him and Harry hurriedly stuffed the large envelope under his even larger shirt. It used to be Dudley's and the green-eyed boy knew that his relatives wouldn't notice. He then returned to the kitchen, handed the bill and the postcard to his uncle before returning to the bacon on the stove.

Silently, he vowed to read the letter in the privacy of his cupboard later when the Dursleys' had fallen prey to sleep.

* * *

Petunia shut the cupboard door behind him just as Harry sat down onto his cot. With a click, his aunt then placed the padlock onto it before padding up the stairs to her and Vernon's shared room. Harry quietly turned to the clock on the only makeshift shelf inside the cupboard and waited.

Finally, half an hour after the Dursleys' had gone to sleep, the green-eyed boy took out the letter that he had hidden under his pillow and opened it.

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Harry couldn't move. He didn't know how long he sat there simply staring at the letter in his hands, the parchment crinkling under his fingertips as he shook, eyes wide. The letter fell from his grasp as he then pulled out the second parchment and read:

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

Uniform

_First-year students will require:_

_1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

_2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

_3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

_4. On winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)_

_Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags_

Set Books

_All students should have a copy of each of the following:_

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) _by Miranda Goshawk_

A History of Magic _by Bathilda Bagshot_

Magical Theory _by Adalbert Waffling_

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration _by Emeric Switch_

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _by Phyllida Spore_

Magical Drafts and Potions _by Arsenius Jigger_

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _by Newt Scamander_

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection _by Quentin Trimble_

Other Equipment

_1 wand_

_1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

_1 set glass or crystal phials_

_1 telescope_

_1 set brass scales_

_Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad_

_PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS_

Harry couldn't believe what he was reading. However, the dream that he had forgotten, the one from his tenth birthday, sent his thoughts spiraling as he remembered what _those two _were talking about. He took in a deep breath before raising a hand to the door.

When he was five, Harry had been almost starved within this very cupboard. That was the first time though that he had attempted to sneak out from within its confines to get food from the kitchen. It had taken a lot of practice, but he had found a way to unlock the padlock that his aunt and uncle had put on the door. He had been successfully several other times as well.

After taking a deep breath, Harry let his hand slowly slide down the door. His brow was crinkled in concentration. He smiled happily when he heard the soft click of the padlock when he unlocked it before slowly lowering it to the floor. Its landing on the carpet was quiet and wouldn't have alerted the Dursleys' of Harry's escape.

Harry cautiously opened the door, glancing back and forth before stepping out into the hallway. He took his blanket, made it into a backpack of sorts, and then grabbed all the things that were important to him; a few of Dudley's old toy soldiers, a few crayon stumps, and a small ball. He quietly tip toed to the kitchen and grabbed one of the loaves of bread before putting that in the makeshift backpack along with everything else. Then, he grabbed the papers from the letter, stuffed them back into the envelope, and was out the front door into the night.

He ran and ran and ran, never looking back once.

* * *

It was rather late at night when the great Albus Dumbledore's wards around 4 Privet Drive went off. The most powerful wizard of history rose from bed, picked up his wand from the bedside table, before turning them off with a wave. He then returned to sleep.

It would only be several hours later that Dumbledore would realize that Harry Potter was no longer within the confines of the wards. He would use tracking spell after tracking spell, but only when he reached a deserted alley did the trail vanish. His fears grew and grew as his attempts to find the young Potter heir failed. It was his only consolation that his devices told him that Harry Potter was alive.

* * *

Harry finally stopped running, hands falling to rest on his knees. He had run as far as he could from the Dursleys' house without so much as taking a deep breath. Now, he was under the impression that he could rest a little easier. But there was one thing that he still needed to do.

Standing up straight, he glanced around before opening his mouth.

"Lola!"


	2. Chapter 1

**Author:** PoisonedChuugoku

**Summary:** Just as he was about to board the Hogwarts Express, eleven year old Harry Potter accidentally bumped into a strange boy with stunning blue eyes and a smile that drew him in.

**Features:** Harry/Multi, Yaoi, Creature!Harry, Submissive!Harry, other species, OCs

**Rating: **T

**Notes:** Sorry about any grammar mistakes guys. I'm usually half asleep when I write these so, I don't really check too thoroughly after I'm done.

Anyways, I've had this idea in my mind for a while now. And I know that I'm gonna get a lot of crap from those who've been reading **The Stick of Truth** so... Sorry guys. *Sheepishly shrugs* I don't think I'll be updating that one for a while. Not much motivation and the plot bunnies for this story are rabid and hungry. If I don't feed them, bad things happen.

Also, thank you all who reviewed and favourited and followed this story guys! I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do, however, own any OCs that might appear in this fic.

* * *

Harry nervously tugged on the hem of his collared shirt, his eyes glancing around from behind his new square-shaped glasses (that he could actually see through) as he fingered the shrunken trunk in his pants pocket. His finger brushed against the ticket that was inside as well, sighing.

Lola would have his head if she saw him now, he thought to himself. That house elf in particular was rather devoted to her job, and in turn, to Harry. Apparently, she was the Potter family house elf.

When he had called her name in that alley, she had immediately appeared in front of him before hugging him tightly. She may have been shorter and more scrawnier than he was(though he would never admit it to her out loud), but she sure had a lot of strength in her arms. The green-eyed boy had almost freaked out entirely until Lola explained what exactly she was and who she worked for. Her last owner being Harry's own parents.

The eccentric house elf then immediately took him to Potter Manor, a large estate that Harry now suspected might be located somewhere in Wales. He wasn't too sure though. He had been too busy taking in the size of the place.

Potter Manor was incredible. Lola had given him a crash course of his new home (and yes, she had assured him, it was in fact his). The Manor had three floors and a total of over one hundred rooms. The gardens all around had all kinds of flowers and trees that Harry admired as they entered through the front door. Then, surprisingly, three other house elves were waiting in the foyer for them. Lola introduced them as Sebby, Mitsu, and Crissy. Sebby was the gardener, Mitsu the chef, and Crissy, for lack of better words, the maid. Lola was in charge of all three other house elves; essentially the Head Maid, in a sense.

Harry had been extremely overwhelmed at the time. Lola had quickly teleported (which he later was told it was actually called apparating) him to a room in the Manor and put him to bed. The next few days, the house elves all helped the Potter heir get accustomed to the Wizarding World as well as any rules and manners that he was expected to know. Harry loved to learn. He soaked up the information they had him read about like a sponge.

Lola had gone out one day during August and bought most of the things that he would need for Hogwarts such as potion ingredients and books. He then went with her the next day to get robes and his wand. Since Lola was a house elf, they only need to ask Magic for what they would need. Lola paid for all of Harry's school things for as the head house elf, she had unlimited access to the Potter vaults. They bought several other kinds of garments for Harry as well, since he had little to no other clothes that would fit him.

Harry had come to rely on the four elves and he constantly thanked them for their help. His training wasn't complete, he knew, but the elves told him that there would be others within Hogwarts who would be more then willing to help him. Some, for a price of course.

Lola had quickly told Harry before she apparated him to King's Cross Station that to get to platform 9 ¾, one must walk through a barrier between platform 9 and platform 10. So, glancing around for the two platforms, he quickly hurried over. With not a single look behind him, the green-eyed wizard passed through the barrier, not even turning at the mention of "muggles" that came from a red haired woman further away.

Stepping onto the platform, Harry glanced around before shifting through the crowded area. Smoke drifted over the pedestrians heads, cats around and even through the legs of the many witches and wizards. Owls hooted to each other from within their cages, slightly disgruntled from being jostled around.

The first few carriages of the train were jammed packed with students. Harry brushed past a round-faced boy who looked rather sullen.

"Gran," the boy was saying, "I've lost my toad again..." The older woman beside him, who was obviously his grandmother, gave a sigh. "Oh _Neville_..."

Harry quietly slipped past several other wizards as he made his way towards the empty seats he noticed at the end of the train. Just as he was about to climb the steps, someone pushed into him from behind.

"Ah!" With a startled cry, he began falling forwards. Harry's eyes tightly shut, waiting for the inevitable pain of falling on stairs. But then, he stopped. The green-eyed boy slowly opened his eyes. There was something warm holding his wrist. Whoever had grabbed him slowly pulled him back until he was standing straight once more. Harry turned around.

"Ah, sorry about that," said the dark haired boy, a sheepish smile on his face. The dark haired boy let go of his wrist once he was steady before continuing. "I wasn't exactly watching where I was going..." Harry immediately raised his hands.

"N-No, it's quite alright," he replied, "I wasn't exactly paying attention either..." The boy laughed, a hand coming up to rub the back of his head. Blue eyes stared back into Harry's own. The smile on the boy's face was confident and he seemed to have accepted the apology.

"You looking for a compartment?" the boy then asked. Harry gave a slight nod. The blue-eyed boy's smile seemed to have widened and he nodded towards the stairs behind them.

"Why don't you sit with my friends and I? We have one already." Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

"That would be wonderful," he replied. "Thank you."

"No problem," the boy replied. Then, as he turned to the train stairs, he looked back over to Harry with a teasing smirk on his face. "You want me to hold your hand so that you don't trip this time?" Immediately, Harry felt the heat build up in his cheeks.

"N-No thanks!" With a laugh, the boy finally climbed onto the train. Harry gave a tiny smile before following behind him.

As they made their way through the crowded hallway full of students, the boy in front of him would glance back every couple minutes to see if he was still there. Eventually though, he gave a sigh of relief as they stopped in front of one of the compartments. The blue-eyed boy raised a hand and tapped on the door. It wasn't even a second later when it opened revealing a sandy-haired boy with light brown eyes. He peered at Harry with a raised eyebrow before turning to the one who led them there.

"What took you so long?" he asked, stepping back and letting the two into the compartment. The blue-eyed boy laughed.

"Too many people, Theo," he replied, sitting down into one of the empty seats. He gave Harry a nod to the seat beside him before continuing, "Plus, I also ran into this pretty thing on the way." Harry blushed, biting his lip as "Theo" as well as the others in the compartment chuckled. He then glanced around.

There were two dark skinned males sitting opposite; the first was clearly Italian with dark hair while the other's was almost a bright orange, yet still looked like a brown. He had deep green eyes. "Theo" sat back down next to the Italian after closing the door, picking up a book and then beginning to read. On the blue-eyed boy's other side, Harry noticed a rather pretty brunnet who wore a cheeky grin. Beside her was a quiet blonde with shining blue eyes. All in all, Harry felt like he had just walked into and sat amongst a group of purebloods.

Lola had taught him about the differences in blood types; the purebloods, the half-bloods, and the muggle-born. The Potters hadn't been too picky about blood status, but he knew that most others did. He decided to himself that he would tread carefully until he was a bit more comfortable. The blue-eyed boy turned to look at him with his disarming smile, gaining Harry's attention.

"I don't think we properly introduced ourselves," he began. He held out a hand. "My name is Thanatos Mortem." Harry smiled, taking the hand. He didn't really notice the slight jolt that came over him as soon as their skin touched.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mortem," he replied, "My name is Harry Potter."

Immediately, the atmosphere in the room changed. Harry quickly found himself being subject to curious stares from the others in the compartment. Thanatos let go of his hand, raising an eyebrow in slight surprise.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that," he said. Harry blinked in slight confusion.

"What do you mean?" The boy with the slightly orange hair then spoke up.

"You're rather famous in the Wizarding World, Mr. Potter," he said. The boy then gave a grin and a wink, sending butterflies down into Harry's stomach. "You can call me Apollo. Apollo Addams."

"Please," Harry said, blushing, "Just call me Harry. All of you." The air cleared up, but not by much.

"Well then Harry," Thanatos said, drawing Harry's attention once more, "I guess I'll introduce you to the others in here with us. That over there," he gestured to the sandy-haired boy who had opened the door, "is Theodore Nott. Beside him is Blaise Zabini," he nodded to the Italian boy.

"And these two lovely ladies," Apollo said, gesturing to the girls beside Thanatos, "Are Tracey Davis," the brunnet waved, "and Daphne Greengrass," the blonde haired girl gave a nod.

"They're obviously the most beautiful and smartest witches that will ever grace Hogwarts' fair halls," Apollo then added. Tracey reached over and gave him a cuff upside his head as Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Prat," Tracey said. Apollo batted his eyelashes at her.

"You know you love me." Tracey then raised an eyebrow at this statement before giving a very undignified snort and turning to Harry.

"Don't pay any attention to that idiot," she said, to which Harry hid a snicker as Apollo pouted at being insulted, "You can call me Tracey, if you like."

"It's nice to meet you, Tracey," Harry said giving a shy smile. The brunnet grinned before literally crawling over both Daphne and Thanatos (who both cried out in indignation), and plopping herself into Harry's lap. The boy immediately began blushing furiously.

"You're so cute!" The girl squealed, hugging him tightly around the neck. Harry slowly found it extremely difficult to breathe and he let it be known by making squeaks of protests that seemed to be unheard by the girl. Across from him, Theodore rolled his eyes.

"Tracey," the boy said with a sigh, "I think you're killing him." The brunnet let go, Harry taking in a gulp of much needed air as Tracey turned to Theodore, sticking her tongue out.

"You're just jealous that I'm not sitting on your lap and hugging you to death," she said, smirking. The others quietly hid snickers behind their hands as Theodore raised an eyebrow.

"Then why don't you come over here and hug me to death so that my jealously will be sated?" the sandy-haired boy asked, raising his arms in a gesture that clearly stated he was ready to receive that hug. Apollo cackled from where he sat as Tracey stuck her tongue out at Theodore once more before returning to her seat. Thanatos sent her a glare as she crawled over his lap again before turning back to Harry.

"So, what do you think of the Wizarding World so far?" he asked him. The others seemed to tune in. Harry shrugged, giving a slight blush.

"Honestly, I don't know too much," he replied, "My house elf, Lola, has had me read a few books on the Wizarding World; customs, politics, things like that. But so far, I think it's amazing." It was clearly the right thing to say as Thanatos gave a satisfied nod as he leaned back into his seat.

"So, did you really kill You-Know-Who when you were a baby?" It was Tracey who asked. Daphne gave her a smack as Harry blinked in slight surprise and confusion.

"Excuse me, what are you talking about?!" The others watched as poor Harry looked totally and utterly confused. Blaise raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know?" Harry's head snapped to the Italian boy.

"I don't know what?" he asked, "This is the first time I've heard about this!"

The students all gave each other surprised glances before Blaise leaned in and began telling the story.

* * *

Harry was stunned.

He sat deflated in his seat on the train as Blaise finally finished his tale. There was nothing he could say. Idly, his hand came up and rubbed at the Roman numeral four underneath his left eye, stained with tears as he heard of his parents' deaths. The others were quiet as they let him grieve.

The only reminders of his parents were few; his green eyes as well as the Roman numeral four underneath his left eye from his mother and the appearance of his father. There was nothing else. Well, nothing else that he knew of. As he thought about it, a frown came to his face.

If a war had been going on, then wouldn't his parents' have written a will? If so, then where is it? His head snapped up and just as he was about to speak out about it, the door to their compartment opened revealing a red haired boy with freckles. His eyes lit up when he spotted Harry.

"Hey, can I sit here?" he asked. "Everywhere else is full." He didn't even wait for any of them to reply before dragging his trunk into the compartment. By the window, Apollo raised an eyebrow.

"That's a lie if I've ever heard one," the green-eyed boy jabbed, glaring slightly. Thanatos turned to glance at the red head.

"This is a train created by magic," Thanatos stated, his voice so cold that it made Harry shiver, "A compartment would have been magically created if there really _were _no other seats available." The others in the compartment returned to whatever they were doing, keen on letting Thanatos handle the nuisance. He stood from his seat.

"So, I suggest you leave since this one is clearly as full as all the others that you passed on the way here."

The boy grimaced. He then turned to Harry as he moved to the door once more.

"Fine... Come on, Harry." At this, Harry frowned.

"I think not," he replied. "I rather like the company here, thank you very much." At this, the boy whirled around, shocked.

"B-But... They're snakes!" He jabbed his finger to the others in the compartment. Harry glared.

"Be that as it may, they're a lot nicer then you are being right now," the green-eyed boy retorted. "So, I'll be staying with the rather nice company, while you get out and find your own compartment."

Before he could say anything else, Theodore stood, opened the door, and pushed the boy out. He then closed it, and then locked it before sitting back down with a sigh. Turning and giving him a nod, Theodore said, "Well done."

Harry smiled in response before turning back so that he faced the others in the compartment.

"Who was that anyway?" Thanatos plopped back down into his seat.

"Ronald Weasley," the boy replied, inspecting his nails, "His father is the head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry."

"I've met him at a few of their parties," Theodore added, grimacing, "He eats like Apollo on a bad day." An indignated "Hey!" came from where Apollo was sitting as Thanatos continued.

"He has several older siblings and a younger sister who will be coming to Hogwarts next year," the blue-eyed boy said, "There are seven of them in total, I believe." Harry then thought about this for a moment.

"Do any of you have siblings?" he asked. Theodore, Blaise, Tracey, and Apollo all shook their heads.

"I have a younger sister who will be coming to Hogwarts next year," Daphne said.

"I have four other siblings myself," Thanatos said. "My two older brothers already graduated from Hogwarts, my older sister is in her Fourth Year, and my younger brother will be coming here four years from now."

"I wish I had siblings," Apollo added. Immediately, Thanatos shook his head.

"No you don't," he intoned.

"Mother and Father need a bit more life in our house," Apollo explained, "Now that I'm off to Hogwarts, they're going to have to find another way to occupy their time." He said this with a smile, chilling just about everyone else (aside from Thanatos, who simply grinned along with him) in the room to the bone. Harry wasn't sure what he meant by "another way to occupy their time", but he had a feeling that he wouldn't like it.

There was a knock on the door. Theodore gave everyone a long suffering look as he stood once more to see who it was. It was a bushy haired girl as well as the round faced boy that Harry noticed on the platform.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," the girl said. She had a bossy sort of voice and lots of bushy hair in addition to her large front teeth.

"No, sorry," Apollo smoothly said, standing from his seat and making his way over to stand next to Theodore. Harry idly noticed that the boy was seemingly blocking him from the girl's sight. He felt silently grateful, as he had this feeling that she would have made a big scene if she had seen him.

"Though, I have to admit," the pureblood continued, glancing at the hair, "That hair of yours looks awfully difficult to tame. What kind of shampoo do you use?" The girl flushed.

"T-That's not really any of your business!" Apollo simply smiled, and Harry noticed the blush had deepened.

"Try the shampoo from _Madam Primpernelle's Beautifying Potions_ in Diagon Alley," the pureblood suggested, "My mother gets her shampoo from there and she says that it works wonders!"

"I-I'll keep that in mind," the girl stuttered before she turned to Neville, "Come on, Neville! I'm sure Trevor's around here somewhere!" The two then left. Apollo started whistling to himself as he sautered to his seat. Thanatos rolled his eyes.

"Flirt." Apollo winked.

"Come now, Thane," he said grinning, "That's not going change the fact that you'll always have a place for me in your heart; I'm your best friend, after all." Thanatos snorted, unamused as Apollo blew him a kiss. Harry chuckled in amusement along with the rest. Then, Apollo stopped his teasing by turning to them.

"So, what house do you guys want to be in?"

"Slytherin." Just about everyone in the compartment spoke at the same time. Harry blinked in confusion as Apollo turned to him with a grin.

"So Harry, which house?" Harry thought about it for a second.

He knew that he didn't want to get involved in the Gryffindor/Slytherin feud. However, he had been surviving at the Dursleys using cunning and guile, and those were most definitely Slytherin traits. However, the house of Lions seemed more open. But he wouldn't mind being put into Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff either. So, in response to Apollo's question, he shrugged.

"I don't really know," he said, "I'll just see where I end up."

The grin on Apollo's face turned into a smirk. Harry could feel his insides quiver as the beautiful boy reached over and took his hand, squeezing lightly. Harry felt a slight jolt pass through him when the other boy did this.

"And I, for one, can't wait to see where that will be."

* * *

Well, there you have it folks. The chapter that everyone wished me to write! *Winks*

Okay, I got a question for you all: If two muggle-borns got together and had a child, what would the child's blood status be? I personally believe that it would be pureblood, since they have to start somewhere, right? Review and tell me your opinion.


	3. Chapter 2

**Author:** PoisonedChuugoku

**Summary:** Just as he was about to board the Hogwarts Express, eleven year old Harry Potter accidentally bumped into a strange boy with stunning blue eyes and a smile that drew him in.

**Features:** Harry/Multi, Yaoi, Creature!Harry, Submissive!Harry, other species, OCs

**Rating: **T

**Notes:** Sorry about any grammar mistakes guys. Please note that I don't really check well for mistakes. I'll try my best in finding the more obvious ones, but otherwise, no promises.

Thank you to all those who reviewed, favourited, or followed. I hope you enjoy.

Also, I'd like to point out that my updating dates are random and have no planning behind them whatsoever. Therefore, if I update two chapters in a day or one every few months (or something similar), then it's most likely that I'm in a writing mood. If I disappear for a while and no one sees me, then that's normal too. Just don't expect for me to update like a normal author should. I hope some of you are used to this kind of thing.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do, however, own any OCs that might appear in this fic.

* * *

Harry's stomach lurched with nerves, yet after taking one look at his companions, he steeled his expression as best he could. He had placed his, now unshrunken trunk, onto the floor of the compartment after the announcement had sounded. The group of First-Years then opened the compartment door and stepped into the crowded corridor. The train slowed down before coming to a complete stop. People pushed their way to the door and out onto a tiny, dark platform.

The cold night air bit at Harry's skin and he shivered involuntarily, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets. It was at this moment that a lamp bobbed over the heads of the students and a gruff voice called out: "Firs'-years! Firs-years over here!"

It was a giant, or so Harry thought. The man had had rather scruffy beard and he held the lamp with one hand, the other waving as he called. The giant was smiling kindly, yet some of the other first year students seemed to think it was rather menacing. Beside him, Tracey leaned over.

"That's Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts," she said, Harry straining to hear her over the crowd. He gave a slightly jerky nod as they stopped in front of Hagrid.

"C'mon, follow me - any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me!" Slipping and stumbling, they followed the giant down a steep, narrow path. It was rather dark all around them and Harry could barely make out the outlines of trees, light shining from Hagrid's lamp onto them dimly. Nobody really spoke. Harry followed quietly behind Thanatos and Apollo, the two of which were muttering quietly to themselves. Tracey was beside him while Daphne, Blaise, and Theodore were right behind.

"Yeh'll get yer first sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

Many students gaped in wide-eyed wonder at the sight that was now before them.

The narrow path had suddenly opened up so that the group could see a huge, black lake. In the distance on the other side, Harry could see a majestic castle, lights flickering from the many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called. Harry then noticed the fleet of little boats that were on the shore, sitting and floating quietly on the water.

As Harry was about to hop into one, Thanatos pulled him back and directed him to another as Ronald Weasley abruptly splashed into it. Before the boy could get out, he was quickly joined by the bushy haired girl, "Always-Losing-His-Toad" Neville, and by a tan boy that Harry didn't recognize. Harry settled into a boat further away with Thanatos, Apollo and a quiet Asian boy while Theodore, Blaise, Tracey, and Daphne took the one next to them.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat all to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!" With that simple command, all the boats moved off at once, gliding across the lake. Everyone was completely silent as they stared at the castle overhead, their little boats getting closer and closer as it seemingly became bigger and bigger.

"Heads down!" Hagrid yelled as the first couple of boats reached the cliff.

Several of the kids near the front ducked down. Apollo chuckled from his spot at the front of their boat. Harry noticed as well with an amused smile that Hagrid was really the only one that needed to duck. A curtain of ivy passed over their heads as they entered a dark tunnel until they reached a sort of underground harbour. Upon stopping, they all climbed out onto rocks and pebbles of various sizes and shapes.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid asked, checking the boats as the other students climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" Neville cried with a happy smile, holding out his hands, which the giant gently placed the toad into. Then, they climbed up the passageway in the rock after Hagrids's lamp, finally coming out at last to the smooth, damp grass under the castle's shadow.

They walked up a short flight of stone steps and crowded around a huge, oak front door. Harry stared up with wide eyes. It was taller than the oldest tree in the Potter's garden behind the Manor!

"Everyone here?" Hagrid asked, glancing around. "You there, still got yer toad?" When Neville nodded, Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the wooden door. The sound made the ground under Harry's feet rumble and he soon blinked when it opened.

A tall, black-haired witch in emerald green robes stood there. She had a very stern face. Harry gulped to himself, a feeling of slight nervousness taking over him. She didn't seem like someone one would like to cross. He made it his goal to stay on her good side.

"The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door open wide. The Entrance Hall was huge and flaming torches lit the area from the stone walls they were on. The ceiling, Harry noticed, was so far up that he could barely see it. A marble staircase faced them and seemed like it led to the upper floors.

Harry felt someone, most likely Blaise, push him from behind and the green-eyed boy moved to follow the crowd of other first-years after Professor McGonagall. He could hear the sound of voices getting louder as they came closer to a door on their right - the rest of the school most likely. However, Professor McGonagall instead directed them to a side door and into an empty room just off the hall. As everyone crowded together, Harry looked up as Professor McGonagall stood before them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she began once everyone quieted down, "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you'll be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend your free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you're waiting." Harry noticed how her eyes lingered on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, as well as Ronald Weasley's smudged nose.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," Professor McGonagall then said, "Please wait quietly." With that said, she left the chamber. Harry swallowed nervously before reaching over to tug on Thanatos' sleeve.

"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked quietly, ignoring how Weasley was going on about a mountain troll. The pureblood chuckled.

"Don't worry," he said, "it's not as extravagant as that. I guess it's a bit of... a test."

Harry's heart gave a horrified jolt. The blue-eyed boy noticed how he had paled as he then took a hand and patted Harry on the head. His confident smile (which Harry became aware seemed to be a trait shared by most pureblood wizards) turned into a kind expression. The green-eyed boy wasn't even aware of how his heart began to beat loudly in his chest.

"It's okay, Harry," Thanatos said, "You're just putting on a hat."

A hat?

Before Harry could ask his question, Thanatos' hand dropped from his head as several people behind them screamed.

"What in the world-?" Harry gasped along with several of the students around him.

About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. The were white and slightly transparent as they glided across the room talking to each other. It seemed like they hadn't noticed the first-years. Two seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying, "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance-"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say, what are you all doing here?" The ghost that had been speaking with the friar, a man wearing a ruff and tights, had suddenly noticed the frightened first-years.

Nobody answered.

"New students!" the fat Friar exclaimed, clapping his hands, "About to be sorted, I suppose?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" the Friar then said, grinning, "My old house, you know."

"Move along now," a stern voice said, "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. McGonagall then turned to the first-years.

"Now, form a line," she said, "and follow me."

Harry gulped as he got in line behind Apollo, with Thanatos behind him, and they walked out of the chamber back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

The place was amazing. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. Upon the tables were glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first-years to stand in front of the students with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them made Harry nervous, so to avoid the staring eyes, he looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside," the bushy haired girl whispered further down the line, "I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History_." Harry found that it was absolutely beautiful. He would really like to read more about it; maybe a trip to the library later in the week?

Harry quietly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first-years. She put a pointed wizard's hat on top of the stool. It was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Harry was immediately reminded of his Aunt Petunia, who would have greatly disapproved. Come to think of it, Crissy would have demanded to wash it.

Is that the hat that Thanatos was talking about?

Harry glanced over at the dark haired boy next to him, who was smiling at someone in the many students before them. He looked to where his friend was smiling at and saw an older girl sitting at the table with students dressed in blue. She had on a square pair of glasses and the brightest blue eyes that he had ever seen. Aside from that, Harry could clearly see the resemblance between the two. That was probably Thanatos' sister that he was talking about earlier.

He was jerked out of his thoughts by the sound of something opening. He turned and blinked in surprise as the brim of the hat began to move like a mouth and began to sing:

_"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts' Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all. _

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave of heart,_

_Their daring, nerve and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends. _

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole Hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables before falling quiet again.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, though it didn't cull his nervousness. Honestly, he would prefer not to try the hat on in front of the entire school. The hat seemed to be asking for a lot, Harry certainly didn't feel brave or quick-witted at the moment. Professor McGonagall then stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause -

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

"Addams, Apollo!"

Apollo gave Harry a confident smirk as he sautered up to sit on the stool. Not a moment later, it opened its mouth.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Beside him, Harry saw Thanatos' pureblood mask crumble as his jaw dropped open in surprise. Apollo winked as he passed by Thanatos to the cheering table of red and gold lions. Harry glanced at the others who had been in their compartment, the others also wearing varying expressions of shock.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted again and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!" The table second from the left clapped this time, Thanatos' sister among them; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" joined Apollo at being the first two Gryffindors; Harry saw two twin red headed boys who looked similar to Weasley catcalling. "Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin and the table wearing green clapped politely from their seats. Prim and proper purebloods, he dryly noted. When Tracey was called and the hat announced "SLYTHERIN", she walked over to the table of green with a smirk on her face and a light skip to her step.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house immediately, but at others it took a while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus", a sandy-haired boy further up the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!" The bushy haired girl from the train eagerly ran forward to jam the hat on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Weasley groaned from his place in the line. Daphne was then called up and soon joined Tracey at the Slytherin table.

When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted "Gryffindor", Neville ran off still wearing it before returning to give it to the next, "MacDougal, Morag".

A "Malfoy, Draco" swaggered forward when his name was called and he got his wish immediately; the hat barely even touched his head when it screamed "SLYTHERIN!" Harry watched as the blonde, certainly arrogant, pureblood went and joined two beefy boys at the table of snakes.

"Mortem, Thanatos!" The dark haired boy winked at Harry before sitting down on the stool. He joined Tracey and Daphne at the Slytherin table.

The next person was a "Nakamura, Daisuke", whose name McGonagall had pronounced incorrectly as a sandy haired boy with spiky hair muttered to her the right pronounciation. He was sorted into Hufflepuff after a few minutes.

"Moon", "Nott", "Parkinson", then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil. Then "Perks, Sally-Anne" before finally-

"Potter, Harry!"

As Harry stepped forward, hissing whispers suddenly broke out all over the hall.

"_Potter_, did she say?"

"_The _Harry Potter?"

The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the Hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited.

"Hmm," a small voice said in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind, either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting... So where shall I put you?"

_"A-Anywhere is fine really...,"_ Harry thought. There was a soft chuckle that came from the small voice.

"Are you sure?" It asked. "I could very well place you into any one of the houses, if you must know. Your friends would be glad if you went into Slytherin... You could be great there, you know, it's all here in your head..."

It was a tempting thought. However, Harry's mind wandered to finding out if his parents had a will made or not... If his parents left him anything, anything at all. The small voice let out a thoughtful sound.

"Hmm, I see..." it said, "Well, there's plenty of things you wish to know of this world you have been thrust into, isn't there...? I know just the place! Better be..."

* * *

Can you guess where Harry was placed? Leave a review and tell me what you think!


	4. Chapter 3

**Author:** PoisonedChuugoku

**Summary:** Just as he was about to board the Hogwarts Express, eleven year old Harry Potter accidentally bumped into a strange boy with stunning blue eyes and a smile that drew him in.

**Features:** Harry/Multi, Yaoi, Creature!Harry, Submissive!Harry, other species, OCs

**Rating: **T

**Notes:** Sorry about any grammar mistakes guys. Please note that I don't really check well for mistakes. I'll try my best in finding the more obvious ones, but otherwise, no promises.

Thank you to all those who reviewed, favourited, or followed. I hope you enjoy.

You know what's surprising? The fact that this story gained over 40 followers in the span of a day. How? How did this happen? It's not like I don't appreciate it, you guys, it's just that it happened so fast, I was like "Where did you all come from?" So, yeah.

On a side note, does anyone know of the manga Tokyo Ghoul? The first episode for the anime came out a few days ago and I am so hyped up for it I watched it and I was like "THIS IS EPIC". So yeah, you guys should check it out. There might be a similar concept about to occur in the story that no one will understand unless you either read the manga/watch the anime or until I get around to explaining it. Which won't be any time soon, so...

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do, however, own any OCs that might appear in this fic.

* * *

Harry gaped in awe as the group of eight first-years climbed up the marble staircase. Paintings moved and gave greetings to the children as they passed, clearly happy to see new faces in the halls of the school. The curly haired girl who introduced herself as one of their prefects, Penelope Clearwater, led them down various corridors and up several flights of stairs.

When the hat announced "RAVENCLAW!", the table of blue and bronze had erupted into applause and cheers. Harry had flushed a deep red as he stood from the stool, gave the hat to a slightly disappointed looking Professor McGonagall, and made his way to the table. He sat amongst the other first-years and several older students reached over from where they sat to shake his hand. Apollo had reached across from where he sat at the Gryffindor table to give him a high five. The cheering died down soon enough as they all returned to watched the rest of the Sorting.

Harry had taken a few discreet glances at the Slytherin table as the Sorting continued; he noted how many of the purebloods had their blank masks in place. The friends he met on the train were no different, though Thanatos would look over in his direction from time to time.

By this time, there weren't too many students left. "Turpin, Lisa" soon joined them at the Ravenclaw table. Weasley went to the Gryffindor table looking rather glum, though Harry couldn't really bring himself to care too much. The Asian boy who had sat with him, Thanatos, and Apollo on the way to the castle, "Wen, Yang", also joined them at the Ravenclaw table before the final person, Blaise from the train, went to Slytherin.

It was at this point that Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster, got to his feet. The Great Hall fell silent immediately.

"Welcome!" he said, "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

As he sat back down, there was much cheering and clapping. Harry noticed how most of it came from the Gryffindor table (with the odd exception or two, like Apollo who had simply scowled). The green eyed boy didn't know whether to laugh or not.

Harry was soon pulled out of his thoughts as the first-years in front of him came to a stop. They had been climbing a set of long spiraling staircases before they came to a door. It had no handle and no keyhole: nothing but a plain expanse of aged wood, and a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle. Penelope reached out and knocked once. The new Ravenclaws fell silent, watching and waiting. Soon after, the beak of the eagle opened and a soft, musical voice spoke.

"Who or what knows all languages?"

Penelope tapped her chin, thinking, before turning to the first-years.

"To get into the common room, you must solve a riddle," she said.

"What if you get it wrong?" Padma Patil asked. Penelope grinned.

"You have to wait for someone who gets it right," the prefect replied, "This way, you learn. Now, who can guess the answer?" There were murmurs among the first-years, the students wracking their brains for an answer. Harry bit his lip.

Who or what knows all languages? A person could know several languages, however, one could not know them all. Different places have different variations of the same word, even if they are part of the same continent or country. Therefore, it had to have been a thing or a "what" as the knocker had said. What kind of thing could know all of these languages? Unless...

"Echo."

The students all turned to look at the Asian boy, Yang Wen. Yang had rather long dark hair, which he tied in a low ponytail. He had sharp, dark brown eyes behind a pair of golden framed glasses. Harry had also noticed that the boy had a rather long scar running down over his right eye, partially hidden by dark bangs. He actually looked bored.

"An echo," he repeated.

"Well reasoned," the musical voice replied, before the door swung open. Penelope grinned.

"Nicely done," she said. Then, she gestured for the students to follow her as she stepped through the open doorway. The other first-year students whispered to each other with excited voices as they entered the Ravenclaw common room.

It was wide and circular and seemingly more airier than the other rooms that they had been in so far. Graceful arched windows punctuated the walls, which were hung with blue and bronze silks. Harry noticed that the common room would have a spectacular view of the mountains outside during the day. The ceiling above them was domed and painted with stars, echoed by the midnight blue carpet. There were tables, chairs, and book shelves. In a niche opposite the door stood a statue of tall white marble.

It was a bust of a woman who had a quizzical half-smile on her face, beautiful yet slightly intimidating. Upon her head was a delicate looking circlet that had been reproduced in marble. The statue stood beside a door, which Penelope led them to. She nodded to the bust.

"That is Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the Founders of Hogwarts," the prefect said. "The circlet on her head? That's Ravenclaw's diadem. It had been lost centuries ago, disappearing without a trace. If you look closely, you can see words inscribed into it." The first-years all leaned forward to get a better look.

"_'Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure.'_"

"Indeed," Penelope said, drawing everyone's attention back to her. "Follow me." The students quickly turned and followed their prefect through the open door. On the other side were two marble staircases, both leading up in separate directions.

"Those lead to the boys' dormitory," Penelope said, gesturing to the staircase on the left, "While those lead to the girls' dormitory." She gestured to the staircase on the right. "All of your things are already in your rooms; first-year dormitories for both genders are the first door you come across. Boys cannot go up to the girls' dormitories, least you want the paintings along the walls to reprimand you for trying to do so.

"There are several book shelves within your rooms," she continued, "And all students have access to take out three at a time. As you continue at Hogwarts, that limit will exceed by one each per year; being first-years, you will be allowed to take out three books, while in your second year, you will be allowed to take out four, and then etcetera, etcetera. If something were to happen to these books or if they go missing, please note that you will be held accountable. In addition, you may not lend out these books to those in other houses. They are Professor Flitwick's personal collection. Professor Flitwick is our Head of House, you may go to him if you need anything.

"There are several other prefects in addition to myself. Our doors are also always open if you need to talk to us or anything similar. Don't be afraid to ask questions, though please recognize when an answer to your question is obvious or not. Finally, Professor Flitwick encourages the students under his wings to do your own research on the side in addition to your school work; that is what the books in your rooms are for. Muggle-born and muggle-raised students are especially encouraged to learn more about the Wizarding World; once again, take a look at the books that are provided to you in your dormitories.

"Last, but not least, I suggest that you don't leave your assignments to the last minute. Professors Snape and McGonagall both expect that students hand essays in on time; Professor Flitwick expects the same, especially from his Ravens. In regards to Astronomy classes with Professor Sinistra, I recommend that you take a nap in the afternoon as you will be tired the morning after."

Penelope then told them to get some rest before leadng the girls up the staircase on the right. The boys took the left staircase, climbing until they reached the first door. Terry Boot, the boy at the front, opened the door and they all walked inside.

There were five four-posters hung with royal-blue velvet curtains. Their trunks sat at the foot of each of the beds, having been brought up earlier. Along the opposite wall, Harry saw the book cases that Penelope had been talking about. Several of the books on the wall included _An Introduction to the Wizarding World_, _The Tales of Beedle the Bard _by Beedle the Bard, _Owl Breeds_, and _Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions_. There were also several other copies of the school books they had been told to purchase for their own personal use, presumbly in case someone lost their copy.

Aside from that though, the first-year boys gave yawns of exhaustion before pulling on their pyjamas and getting into bed. Harry idly watched as Anthony Goldstein, Terry, and Michael Corner all fell asleep almost immediately. He was about to do so as well, when he noticed a shift of movement out of the corner of his eye. Harry watched silently as Yang got up from his bed and went over to the book cases along the wall. The boy scanned the shelves for a moment before taking one of the hard copies off of the shelf and putting it into his school trunk, locking it shut with a hurried whisper. Harry shuddered as the words _"Lock, Bound, and Ssseal"_ washed over him in a silent hiss.

Yang then slipped back into bed and closed the curtains. Harry turned over onto his side, his thoughts becoming jumbled. Yang seemed to have been interested in that book. Maybe it was for reading later? Yet, Harry could make out the slight marks in the Asian boy's arms as they glowed under the light from the window. In addition, the boy had seemed anxious almost, a large contrast from the blank mask he wore.

With these thoughts in his mind, Harry fell asleep, curious about the boy sleeping in the bed nearest to the window.

* * *

Harry considered himself rather lucky that he had woken up early in order to figure out his way around. He went down to the Great Hall first for breakfast, not long after changing and grabbing _An Introduction to the Wizarding World _from the shelf and _The Most Ancient and Most Noble Wizarding Famililes of Great Britain _from his trunk. It took him half an hour to figure out his way around.

Upon arriving in the Hall, Harry had immediately noticed that Yang was already sitting at the Ravenclaw table, reading several books at the same time. There were other Ravenclaws at the table as well, almost all of them reading. Harry didn't really think when he took the seat closest to the Asian boy, pulling out his own books.

The green eyed boy saw that there weren't too many students in the Great Hall. But he did notice that each of those students had one thing in common.

The students at the Slytherin table all were eating toast. The Hufflepuffs seemed to be inclined to sandwiches; there were all kinds of spread, eggs, and meats available at their table. The single student at the Gryffindor table, Harry recognized Hermione from the train, was helping herself to the various kinds of large, fatty foods that were on the table. He also noticed that those at the Ravenclaw table, the largest majority of the students in the Hall, were eating fruit, bagels, or porridge; essentially, brain food. He did have to admit, he probably got himself into the right house; Harry always did prefer bagels and fruit.

As he took a bagel and began to eat and read, Yang glanced over at him out of the corner of his eye before returning to his own books. The two sat in silence as they ate, the rest of the school slowly trickling in.

At the end of the Hufflepuff table, a sandy-haired boy with spiky hair watched the two, cunning brown eyes hidden by a mask of kindness. Daisuke Nakamura frowned, idly moving the half-eaten sandwich on his plate around before standing and leaving to go to the washroom. He wasn't really that hungry anyway.

* * *

"There, look."

"Where?"

"That one wearing the glasses?"

"Did you see his face?"

"Did you see his scar?"

Whispers followed Harry from the very moment the students noticed him in the Great Hall that morning. People queuing outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring. Harry wished they wouldn't, because it made him nervous in addition to how he was trying to find his classes.

There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were also doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also rather difficult to remember where anything was, since it all seemed to move around a lot. The portraits kept going to visit each other and Harry was 99.999% sure that the coats of armour could walk.

The ghosts weren't really helpful either. It was always a really nasty shock when one would glide through a door that you were trying to open. The Grey Lady, Ravenclaw Tower's ghost, wasn't exactly helpful when giving directions and Peeves the poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. Harry heard some of the older Gryffindors say that Peeves would drop waste-paper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"

He believed though that the caretaker, Argus Filch was worse. He owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a skinny, dust-coated creature with bulging, lamp-like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. If you broke a rule in front of her, she would whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, not two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins in Gryffindor) and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him and many wished to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.

Harry actually had taken to following and sitting with his classmate and dorm mate Yang Wen for most lessons. The other boy didn't seem to mind too much and Harry found that the quiet and studious Ravenclaw had a superb sense of direction. On the first day, Yang didn't get lost once.

Then, there were the lessons themselves. There was a lot more to magic, then simply waving your wand and saying funny words or incantations.

Every Wednesday night at midnight, all four houses studied the night skies together through their telescopes to learn the names of various stars as well as the movements of planets. Three times a week, both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw went to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, under the tutelage of a dumpy witch called Professor Sprout. There, they learnt how to take care of strange plants and fungi and found out what they were used for. These two houses seemed to be paired up often, similar to how Gryffindor and Slytherin were paired up. Harry was slightly disappointed that he couldn't be with his friends from the house of snakes, but didn't say anything.

The most boring class was easily History of Magic, which was taught by Professor Binns, a ghost. He had apparently fallen asleep in front of the staff-room fire and got up the next morning to teach, leaving his body behind. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and got Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up. It was after that lesson that one of the Hufflepuffs, Hannah Abbott, suggested that people take turns writing down notes while the rest napped. Both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw took this into account, Su Li and Padma Patil were drawing up a schedule for the house of blue and bronze.

Professor Flitwick, Ravenclaw's Head of House and the Charms' teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the beginning of their first lesson he took the register, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight. The attention on Harry had been taken off of him and onto the fallen professor, something that made him immediately become fond of his Head of House.

Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry was correct in assuming that she was not a teacher that you would want to cross. Strict and clever, she had given them a talking to the moment they had sat down in her first class.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again.

They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realised they weren't going to be changing furniture into animals for a long time. After making a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, a handful of the Ravenclaws as well as a few of the Hufflepuffs were able to make differences to their matches. Harry had managed to give his match a silver coating after Su Li explained how she did it. McGonagall had given them all a tiny smile, something that Harry recognized as being a form of silent praise.

The class that most people had really been looking forward to was Defense Aganist the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom made Harry want to cringe as the garlic stench wafted through his system. Everyone said that it was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. Harry noticed that he wasn't the only one who was strongly affected by the smell; Yang always seemed to be strongly resisting the urge to scrunch up his nose in disgust (which he often did when one of their classmates was being, as he put it, "needlessly stupid"). Daisuke Nakamura, a Hufflepuff who always had a kind smile (except for when someone gets his name wrong), would immediately ask to go to the washroom, taking his bag and other materials with him. He usually never came back, but the kids knew that they would see him in their next lesson.

Harry was very relieved that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. In fact, because of the help he had from Lola and the other Potter house elves, Harry was actually slightly ahead. Not in terms of spells, mind you, but in most other things; history and potions mostly. Lola had told him that his mother was a charms mistress, in addition to being rather gifted at potions. A feeling in him clenched around his heart and he had read his first year potions text book as well as a few of the future books regarding the subject. He didn't remember everything, but he could recognize monkshood and wolfsbane if the need arose.

* * *

It was Friday of the first week when Harry heard from Apollo of an incident that occurred in the first period Double Potions class shared by both Gryffindor and Slytherin. Apparently, Neville Longbottom had spilled his potion by accident and it had sent both him and Thanatos to the infirmary. Thanatos had been hit in the face when the some of the substance splashed out, as opposed to Neville, who's arms and legs were both hit. Harry had been extremely worried for his friend and at lunch, dragged Yang with him to the infirmary.

They opened the door and went inside quietly, the medi-witch going about her business. She turned to look at them with a sharp gaze.

"Is one of you hurt or injured?" she asked. Harry shook his head.

"No Madam," he replied, "We just came to visit a friend."

"And what's this friend's name?"

"Thanatos Mortem." The witch's eyes lit up in a strangely sad recognition. She gestured for them to follow her. Madam Pomfrey led them to a bed on the far side of the room. She nodded for them to go behind the curtain.

Harry stepped inside, slowly making his way over to the bed where Thanatos' unconscious form lay. Behind him, though Harry didn't notice, Yang had furrowed his eyebrows in a look of contemplation. The Asian boy quietly sniffed the air before continuing to watch. Harry then turned his head to look at Madam Pomfrey.

"Is he going to be alright Madam?" The medi-witch bit her lip before giving a nod.

"He'll be fine dear," she replied. "Now, you better get off to lunch or else you won't have any time."

Harry nodded before following an apprehensive Yang out of the infirmary. They passed by Daisuke in the hallway, Yang giving him a glare out of the corner of his eye which was returned with full force. Harry didn't notice a thing at the tension between the other two boys.

* * *

Poppy Pomfrey gave a sad sigh, a hand coming up to wipe away a few tears from her eyes as she removed her other hand from the dead boy's neck. She then turned and was half-way to her office to contact the headmaster, the boy's Head of House, and the boy's parents when a compulsion came over her. Forgetting what she was doing, the medi-witch left the infirmary to get lunch from the kitchen.

Not ten minutes later, Thanatos Mortem left the infirmary to get to his next class.

* * *

It was after curfew. By this point in time, the prefects had gone to bed having completed their duties for the evening. A few of the teachers were wandering the halls in search for any students that might be out of bed. He was confident in his abilities though. They wouldn't be able to find him.

As the boy slipped through the shadows, another form came around the corner, hugging the wall. Red eyes glowed under the dim light of the moon that came through the window as the creature's eight large kagune fanned out behind him, remnicent of a spider's legs.

The creature had been hunting. Patrolling around for any fool who would dare cross him. Suddenly, the creature was pushed and slammed into the wall behind it. It let out a hiss as the student pinned him there with a snarl.

"What are you doing, wandering the _hallssss _at _thisss _hour?" The student hissed, his cold voice almost falling into his original tongue. The creature laughed.

"Why, hunting that delicious monster that roams it," the creature replied, chuckling. "It makes me _shudder_; its magic is so powerful and it just makes me want to eat. It. Up." The thing licked its lips tantalizingly slow. The student's grip on the monster tightened and he pushed him further into the wall, his strength that of which a normal student shouldn't have.

"I _ssssaw _you," he hissed, leaning in close, "You were going to go after the Mortem boy, weren't you?" Another chuckled came from the creature.

"And what if I was?" it asked. "He was lying there, dead as could be; imagine my surprise when I saw him walk as if he had been alive all along not hours later." The creature's eyes narrowed, red pupils blazing hazardly. "Makes you wonder, doesn't it? How such a tiny boy could gather the attention of your _submissa_?" The student growled.

"You know nothing," he replied, pulling back his lips to reveal a pair of sharp fangs.

The creature chuckled, the kagune on his back twisting before pushing the student off of him. With a great feat of strength, the ghoul housted himself up so that his feet no longer touched the ground. Then, with a final chuckle, the eleven year old ghoul's kagune jabbed into the wall behind him and he began to climb, like a spider climbing up a water spout, disappearing into the rafters above. The student snarled, watching him go before hiding in the shadows as a wary Professor Sprout made her way by.

He then made his way back through the halls of Hogwarts, passing by sleeping portraits and suits of armour. Then, he climbed a spiral staircase two at a time before coming to a slow stop. A bronze knocker was before him; he knocked only once. A musical voice spoke.

"If you have it, you want to share it. If you share it, you don't have it. What is it?"

"A secret. For if something as simple as it could be shared, but if shared, it could ruin everything."

The door opened.

"Well worded."

Yang Wen gave a tired sigh, climbing up the stairs to the first-year dormitory and falling into bed.


	5. Chapter 4

**Author:** PoisonedChuugoku

**Summary:** Just as he was about to board the Hogwarts Express, eleven year old Harry Potter accidentally bumped into a strange boy with stunning blue eyes and a smile that drew him in.

**Features:** Harry/Multi, Yaoi, Creature!Harry, Submissive!Harry, other species, OCs

**Rating: **T

**Notes:** Sorry about any grammar mistakes guys. Please note that I don't really check well for mistakes. I'll try my best in finding the more obvious ones, but otherwise, no promises. Also, sorry if I took a while to get this one out to you; haven't been feeling up to writing.

Have I ever told you how much I love you guys? No? Well then, I love you guys a lot. Thank you so much for reading this story, even if it's only in the beginning. Thank you for reading, reviewing, following, and favoriting; you guys rule! Virtual cookies for everyone!

One more thing, I'm sorry in advance if some of you find the jokes in this fanfic slightly offensive (i.e. there's one near the beginning that makes fun of Italians). It's a bit of a habit... If you want me to stop, just review or PM me and let me know.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter. I do, however, own any OCs that might appear in this fic.

* * *

**Funfact: **This was originally supposed to be a Hermione/Multi fanfic. However, I changed it to Harry because he's the easier of the two to write with, for me at least. Plus, I don't really like Hermione/Multi anyways.

* * *

It was over the course of the first week or so that Harry also met several interesting people in addition to those he already knew. He and the rest of the Ravenclaw boys were on good terms and it was the same with the relationship with the girls in their year. However, Harry truly believed that Yang was his only true friend in the house of blue and bronze.

The stoic boy never asked questions but he was always there when Harry needed someone to talk to. Most of the time though, the two simply sat in a calm silence. They had a connection that not many others had. This had been proven on the day of their first potions lesson; Professor Snape had watched in slight distrust as the two boys worked together silently, never speaking to one another. Their potion was in perfect condition when they had finished. Naturally, he had taken points for cheating, however, the potions master was actually more curious then anything.

The two boys usually spent their free time in the Great Hall, the Ravenclaw common room, or in the library. Yang had once handed Harry several books and the green eyed boy didn't even look at the covers before he began to read them. Madam Pince had found this rather strange as they hadn't even said a word to each other about it afterwards.

There were times however when Harry would wake up in the middle of the night and find that Yang's bed was empty. He was almost positive that the Asian boy was sneaking out, but he never said anything. Yang knew that Harry knew, but he also made no effort into bringing it up. Therefore, it became a topic that they avoided, though it didn't seem like it. Harry didn't really like not talking to Yang about this so most of the time he ended up seeking out Apollo.

The rather Slytherin Gryffindor was constantly smiling and almost always had a group of girls with him or following him, giggling as they went. But it was during these times that whenever Harry sought him out, Apollo would willingly go with him to speak about whatever. The Ravenclaw had this feeling that he could talk to Apollo for hours on end and never get bored. However, if he took too long, Yang would usually pop in and drag him off. This never deterred Harry though, and he counted the Gryffindor among his friends.

It was with Apollo that Harry actually met Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept getting into accidents and had several problems going for him at a time. The two became instant friends, even though Neville was more timid than Harry was. Apollo would usually sit with the shy Gryffindor during meals, as opposed to the other two of their dorm mates, who sat with Weasley.

Apollo and the boy known as Ronald Weasley had struck up a sort of rivalry between the two of them, mostly because Apollo was one of the people in their compartment that had essentially thrown the boy out when he bugged them. Apollo would actually ignore whenever Weasley was saying something to him, which only infuriated the boy more to the point where several fights between them would have occurred if Hermione Granger hadn't butted in.

Harry would usually see Granger's bushy brown hair bobbing down the halls whenever he was going to class. He had heard several stories about her from Apollo and Neville, both of which stayed strictly neutral whenever speaking about her. It was also through them that he heard that she was actually verbally bullied by their house mates for being smart and waving it around like an Italian waving a white flag. He found himself feeling a bit sorry for her, but it wasn't like he could do something about it.

In addition to Granger, Harry also had the misfortune of meeting in person one Draco Malfoy. The platinum blond haired boy was a rather large annoyance. He had swaggered up to Harry and Yang when they were in the library one day and essentially made a complete fool of himself. Harry had been rather polite about his refusal, rejecting the blond's offer of friendship (read "alliance"), something that would have made any pureblood lord or lady proud with how he handled it.

Malfoy didn't take it too well.

After the annoyed pureblood boy had stomped off, Thanatos had come into the library followed by the others Harry sat with on the train. Yang had glared suspiciously at the Slytherins (Harry knew the rumors, though he had a feeling...) as they took a seat at their table.

Thanatos was the same as when Harry first met him; an aura of confidence radiating from him as he walked around. Harry found that he rather missed the pureblood boy's company and the two (read "Harry") made up a timetable so they could meet in the library.

It was during this time that Harry also got to know a bit about the others.

Daphne was the oldest daughter of the Greengrass family; her younger sister, Astoria, would be joining them next year. Her father, Cygnus Greengrass, was the current head of the family. The Greengrasses were also strictly neutral, having been so when the Dark Lord Voldermort first came to power.

Tracey was the younger daughter of the Davis family; her older brother had already graduated from Hogwarts and had a job in the Ministry's Department of International Magical Cooperation. Much like the Greengrasses, the current head of the family, Joshua Davis, Tracey's father, changed the family's allegiance from Dark to neutral when the First Wizarding War broke out. Both families leaned more to the Dark rather than the Light.

Blaise was the only child of Malvolia Zabini, a beautiful witch who, as of now, has been widowed three times because of unfortunate accidents that occur to her husbands. All of these men had one thing in common: they were all wealthy or well-off. And since they all left their fortunes to Ms. Zabini in their wills, the Zabini vaults at Gringotts had a rather hefty sum of gold. When Harry asked whether or not he knew why his step-fathers died, Blaise had given him a tiny smile and didn't say anything. The Zabinis were neutral.

Theodore was also an only child, the son of Matthew Nott, who had been killed during Voldermort's reign. His grandfather, Theodore Nott Sr., as well as his mother, Stacey Nott, were the ones who raised him. The Nott family, under his grandfather's rule, was Dark. However, when he became head, Theodore planned on changing that to neutral.

All in all, Harry could now assume that Thanatos' family, the Mortems, as well as Apollo's family, the Addams', were also neutral. He was correct.

Apollo was the only child of Troy and Helen Addams. As Troy was the current head, he was the one who changed the family's allegiance from Dark to neutral well after the First Wizarding War. From what Thanatos said about the Addams, the family apparently had some odd traditions that the Slytherin's own family shared.

Thanatos was the fourth child of Mortimer and Lilith Mortem. He has three brothers and one sister; Seth, Hayden, Persephone, and Azrael, from oldest to youngest. Each one of them was four years apart; Seth being 22, Hayden being 18, Persephone being 14, Thanatos being 10 (until his birthday), and Azrael being 6. Thanatos had also smiled when he said that he couldn't wait for his birthday, as his family would be sending him his gifts when the morning post arrived. No matter how hard Harry tried, he couldn't get the Slytherin to tell him when his birthday was.

Apollo had made it a point then to make his entrance, dragging Thanatos off with the excuse that he needed to "see if his gift fitted him". The Slytherin was not amused. Harry had had a good laugh with the others about it, including Yang, who had only given a tiny smirk. The group split ways not long after as curfew was almost upon them.

Harry found that because of his classes as well as his friends, time flew by and Halloween was drawing closer and closer. With it, his mood became slightly downcast, remembrance of his parents' deaths hitting him like a truck crashing into a person.

* * *

Several days before Halloween, Harry heard of an incident regarding one Ronald Weasley as well as one Draco Malfoy. The two had apparently been flying when they weren't supposed to. Honestly, Harry didn't really care too much about what the two were up to, it wasn't really his business. Though, to be fair, the green eyed boy also didn't really like them so it made no difference to him. As appealing as flying on a broomstick was, Harry preferred to keep both feet on the ground as much as possible, thank you very much.

The day after, Weasley got into trouble. Apparently, he had sneaked out of his common room with Dean Thomas. The two claimed that Malfoy set them up, but they had no proof and no one was willing to confirm their claims. Apollo was smirking for the entire day afterwards and he had even congratulated the blond pureblood on his success when he passed him in the hallway several hours later.

Harry had shaken his head while Yang insulted Weasley for being "as stupid as a toadstool" to fall for Malfoy's lies and manipulations and he had even seen Nakamura smile and say that Weasley should probably go to Madam Pomfrey and get his head checked out, it was highly likely that his mother had dropped him several times when he was a baby. Weasley had turned beet red at that comment and missed nailing the Hufflepuff in the face when Professor Snape had rounded the corner. Nakamura gave Harry his usual cheerful smile and a wink as he slipped away from the scene.

All in all, it was a rather eventful week.

* * *

October 31st.

Halloween.

Harry had woken with a start, yawning and stretching as he sat up from bed. In a slight daze, the boy got up and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, passing by Yang's empty bed. Afterwards, he left the Ravenclaw common room and made his way to the Great Hall, books in hand. He sat down next to Yang as usual and the two sat in silence, reading as they waited for the morning post to arrive along with the rest of the student body.

The Great Hall slowly filled up and Harry's mood darkened as he finally noticed the festive decorations that littered the Hall. He frowned. Yang noticed, the Asian boy sighing before putting a plate of fruit in front of his green eyed friend.

The owls began to fly in.

However, there was one that stood out from the rest. It was really tiny and had grey feathers and large brown eyes that gleamed. It carried a huge brown package, the weight of which seemed to drag it down as its little wings struggled to keep it airborne. It glanced around before doing a straight U-turn and flying over to the Slytherin table before landing right in front of Thanatos. The owl then gave a furious hoot as the boy chuckled, taking his butterknife from his plate and began cutting open the tape that kept the box shut. While he did this, the little owl hopped up onto his cutting hand and watched as Thanatos opened the box, tilting and easily balancing on top.

Finally finished cutting, Thanatos placed the knife back onto the table and, after leaning as far back as he could without falling off the bench, opened the box.

Harry's head, as well as everyone else's whipped towards the sound of an explosion that erupted from the Slytherin table. Owls flew back up into the air and out of the smoke, hooting in surprise, people gasped in confusion and Thanatos' laughter could be heard amidst the grey smoke that filled the Hall. As the teachers finally managed to clear the air, Thanatos could be seen coming out from underneath the Slytherin table, still laughing. Another look comfirmed what he was laughing at; Daphne, Tracey, Theodore, and Blaise were all covered in a strange white foam.

Professor Snape strode over, glaring.

"Mr. Mortem, what is this?" he asked, hissing. Thanatos gave his Head of House a shit-eating grin.

"My birthday present Professor!" He turned back to the box and pulled out several boxes of blood-pops and other candies that were clearly from a wizarding candy store. Placing them to his right, beside a nastily glaring Theodore, Thanatos then pulled out a large book. He put that to his left. At that moment, Harry finally got over the shock and got up, hurrying over.

"Why didn't you say that today was your birthday?" Thanatos' grin turned into a tiny frown. Behind him, Harry noticed that Professor Snape was glaring at him.

"Because it would have been wrong to say something," the boy replied, tone serious. "It is Hallow's Eve, after all." Harry blinked and his eyes went down to his shoes. Thanatos reached out with a hand, patting him on the head, smiling kindly.

"Come on Harry, it's okay! Smile, 'cause your parents would have wanted that!" Harry blushed at the attention, biting his lip. Many of the others who were still watching seemed confused before coming to the realization. Snape's face had turned to stone before he stormed out of the Hall, cloak billowing out behind him dramatically.

_"He's right,"_ Harry thought. _"Besides..." _The dreams came to his mind. Would he still have them? Would he see... _Them_ there?

Before leaving the Dursleys, Harry never knew who _those two_ were. However, the man had looked just like him and he had the woman's eyes. Hadn't he been told that thousands of times? Were the two in his dreams his parents? Maybe they were. The three hadn't had much time for their usual conversations. Ever since Harry started at Hogwarts, he's only dreamed of them twice; the first was the night of the first day of classes and the second was the week previous. Would he see them later tonight? He certainly hoped so.

Looking back to Thanatos, the green eyed boy gave a determined nod.

As Thanatos laughed and eagerly began showing Harry his gifts, the Boy-Who-Lived then decided that maybe Halloween wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

It was during the feast that Harry decided to rethink his earlier statement. He had been just about to help himself to a jacket potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the Hall, turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumping against the table.

"Troll - in the dungeons - thought you ought to know," he gasped. He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.

There was uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.

"Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

As Harry followed behind Yang as the Ravenclaws began climbing up the marble stairs, the green eyed boy noticed a flash of orangeish brown dart around the corner. Harry frowned, before turning and tugging on Yang's sleeve.

"Someone just ran off," he whispered. Yang raised an eyebrow that clearly said 'And I should care about this, why?' Harry sighed.

"Whoever it was could get hurt Yang! Please!" He stared at the Asian boy who finally groaned, "Fine." Harry could have sworn that he heard Yang mutter "just don't look at me like that..." afterwards, but he was too focused on following whoever it was down the corridors. The two boys were about to turn the corner when Yang grabbed Harry's wrist and pulling him behind a large stone griffin.

Placing a hand over the green eyed boy's mouth, the two stood quietly as the sound of quick footsteps passed by before disappearing. Pulling away, the two then continued down the corridor. Yang then stopped and Harry, who was walking behind him, bumped into his friend.

"Do you smell that?" the Asian boy asked, narrowed eyes glancing around shrewdly. Harry's nose scrunched up upon the scent reaching him. They shared a glance before deciding to follow the smell. It was through this action that as the two were about to turn another corner, someone grabbed them from behind, stopping them.

"What are you two doing here?" Apollo asked as they turned around.

"We were following you," Harry replied. "What are you doing here?" The Gryffindor frowned, moving closer to the corner and peering around it before turning back to them.

"Granger wasn't at the feast," he said, "Weasley had insulted her after Charms class and I heard from Patil - the Gryffindor Patil - that she was in the bathroom crying." Harry's eyes widened.

"So she didn't hear about the troll?" Apollo shook his head.

"Are you crazy?" Yang asked, glaring. "There's a troll running rampant in Hogwarts and you just decided 'oh hey! I'll just charge in and save the girl!'? What is wrong with you?" Apollo turned to the Asian Ravenclaw, his green eyes narrowing.

"I'm thinking about someone's life," he retorted, "Unlike yourself, obviously." Harry got between the two.

"Guys, stop it! If Granger is unaware of the troll, then we should find her before it's too late, not stand here argu-"

A high petrified scream came from further down the corridor, making Harry's heart stop. Immediately, Apollo's head snapped up and he burst out running in the direction from whence it came, Harry and Yang right behind him. Apollo pulled open the door at the end of the hall, the one that clearly stated "Girl's Restroom", and the trio ran inside.

Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. A twelve foot tall troll was advancing on her. Its skin was lumpy and a dull, granite grey, its head tiny in comparison. It had short legs that were as thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. It was knocking the sinks off of the walls with a huge wooden club.

"Confuse it!" Harry said desperately before grabbing a tap and hurling as hard as he could against the wall. The troll stopped a few feet from Granger. It lumbered about, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.

"Well, you certainly got its attention," Yang observed, pulling out his wand. Raising it, Yang pointed it directly at the troll. His eyes were calculating and his jaw was clenched.

"_Diffindo_!" An electric white light shot out from Yang's wand, slicing into the side of the troll's head. Its ear fell to the ground and with a loud groan of anger and pain, the troll's speed picked up.

"RUN!" The three boys burst out running out of the girls' restroom, the troll right behind them. As they took off down the halls at a break neck speed, Apollo turned to glance at Yang.

"Where'd you learn the Severing Charm?" he asked. Yang rolled his eyes, reaching over and smacking the Gryffindor upside the head.

"Less talking, more running," he replied.

Harry shook his head, before glancing behind him. The troll was chasing after them, breathing heavily and its beady eyes glaring right into his soul. Harry gulped before turning back around again. Turning the corner, the group suddenly crashed into someone. Falling to the ground, Harry looked up to see Thanatos, Blaise, and Theodore also on the ground.

"What in Merlin's name was that for?" Theodore asked. Getting back to their feet, Apollo glanced back behind them.

"Troll," he replied. The Gryffindor had stated this as if it were an every day occurrence. Thanatos raised an eyebrow.

"Troll?"

Apollo nodded solemnly. Theodore and Blaise blanched.

"Shouldn't we be running then?" Blaise asked. The group took off once more, troll almost on top of them when it turned the corner.

"Are you sure this isn't just a birthday present?" Thanatos asked.

"No, no it isn't," Yang replied.

"You sure?" A pointed glare was aimed at the dark haired boy's head.

"Do you want it to be?"

"Maybe. It would certainly make my life more interesting!" Apollo lightened up.

"Maybe I should send it to my parents! They would be delighted!"

There were several incredulous looks shot the Gryffindor's way. The group came to the grand staircase.

"What do we do?!" Harry asked, panicking. Glancing around, Yang pointed further up.

"If we get higher, we might be able to push it over the side and kill it." The Slytherins glanced at each other before nodding.

"Sounds like a pl-"

The troll came through the door way behind them, its swinging club catching Thanatos in the side and flinging him into the wall on the other side of the staircase. The group heard a loud crack followed by a pained gasp before the pureblood boy fell still.

"THANATOS!" Harry called out, eyes wide. Yang grabbed onto Harry's wrist and the two followed behind the others as they climbed up the stairs. Harry was pale and shaking, Yang noticed. At this rate, they wouldn't be able to outrun it. The Asian pointed to the door that was coming up.

"We won't make it," he stated to the others, "Let's try to lose it." They gave nods of agreement before running through the door, the troll right behind them.

* * *

"Worst. Birthday. Ever."

With a groan, Thanatos opened his eyes before slowly getting back to his feet. As he struggled to stand, broken bones snapped back into place, and blood disappeared off the floor just as the door beside him slammed opened. Out rushed Professor McGonagall followed by Professors Snape and Quirrell.

"Mr. Mortem! What in Merlin's name happened?" McGonagall asked, cold fury in her voice. He couldn't say anything, except to groan, falling back onto his knees. Professor Snape kneeled beside him, running diagnostic scans with his wand, an expression of pure rage on his face.

"T... Troll..." He finally managed to get out. The three froze.

"Explain." Snape finally said.

In all honesty, he didn't tell them too much; just that he had seen a few students break off from their groups and he went to go look for them. He didn't say a word about who the others were. He had this strange feeling that this current issue would make life for Harry problematic in the future.

When he finished his story, McGonagall quickly rushed off with Quirrell in search of the others while Snape got Thanatos to the infirmary.

* * *

Narrowed eyes glowed red as it glared down from the ceiling, hidden behind a mask with eight spider-like glass eyes. A hood covered his hair and a painted pair of sharp, canine teeth were in place of where his mouth was, a zipper keeping it shut. The ghoul then let himself drop down into a crouch atop the rubble that Snape and Thanatos had left behind. He glanced around before taking off in the direction of the horrendous smell.

Professors McGonagall and Quirrell had gone in the other direction. It's not like they would notice the scent with their primitive human noses.

He rapidly, yet carefully, made his way down corridors, following the smell of the mountain troll as it chased the first year boys. Inwardly, he smirked as he imagined the look of Yang's mangled corpse if he didn't get there in time.

He turned the corner.

The first year boys had somehow managed to get inside a classroom. The troll was angrily banging on the wooden door, trying to get them out. A scent came to its nose and it turned to face the spider ghoul at the end of the hallway, zipper slowly being pulled back to reveal an amused grin.

"Trying to get a meal?" the ghoul asked, chuckling, "I do a better job, even if it is a bad day."

The troll growled, lifting its club before beginning to advance on the other creature. Once clos enough, the troll raised the wooden club above its head and slammed it down, intending to crush the ghoul. The smaller of the two simply side stepped, smirking.

"Come now, is that the best you can do?"

The troll let out a mighty roar swinging the club again. Each and every time, the ghoul dodged, laughing all the while. Then, as if finally having enough with the game they were playing, the ghoul's kagune unleashed itself from his lower back. Eight spider like legs whipped around before the ghoul slid under the troll's legs, the kagune cutting deeply into the appendages. The troll howled, falling to the ground. Green oozed onto the stone floor. The troll's head whipped around to glare and spit at the victor. The ghoul smirked.

"You know," he mused, "I've never tried troll before. I assume it won't taste very good..."

The wooden door that the troll had been trying to get into opened. A frightened head poked out. The ghoul recognized Theodore Nott. He grinned.

"Get out of here," he said to the boy, "And take all your little friends with you."

Then finally, with one last glance as the boy with messy black hair and the lightning bolt scar came out into the hallway, the ghoul's kagune pierced the wall to help him climb up into the rafters. He then disappeared. Yang watched him go with a glare as the other boys quietly murmured to each other as they stood in shock.

The four then returned to their common rooms, avoiding teachers, almost convinced that that night had been a complete hallucination.

That night, Harry dreamed.


End file.
